


Vagabond Group of Detention Dwellers

by Thatoneloser_kid



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: F/F, Female green ranger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 09:15:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10533432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatoneloser_kid/pseuds/Thatoneloser_kid
Summary: Just Trini and Kimberly getting together over time.Also, Tommy is actually Tammi, a female Green Ranger.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any prompts you can send them to me on tumblr: thatoneloser-kid.tumblr.com
> 
> Also, I'm not particularly fond of this fic but I just had to write these two.

The little camp outs became a weekly thing after what Zack had said, after they knew that sometimes he just had to get away for a night and, to some extent, they all kind of did.

Trini had come out the first night, as what, none of them really knew but none of them asked, either. Trini liked girls, that's all they had to know, and they knew Trini didn't like labels all that much so they didn't ask for one.

When Kimberly finally told the team what she done they didn't look at her with pity like a lot of people did (why should she be pitied, she was the one in the wrong). And then she broke down, because it just felt amazing to get it out, to stop hiding it.

Billy tentatively touching her shoulder, a comforting gesture.

"Look," Trini piped up and Kimberly lowered her hands to look at her. She was leaning back on the lawn chair she had started bringing along, her legs tucked under herself. "You fucked up, we all have. That was horrible, what you done, but own up to it, work with it because you can't change it. It's done, you hurt people, but that doesn't make you an inherently bad person. Good people make bad choices sometimes."

It was all on the same kind of plane as what Jason had said that night but, somehow, I meant more coming from the yellow ranger. Jason was someone who wanted to help, who wanted to build everyone up, someone who slapped a bully for picking on a kid they didn't know but Trini (who would no doubt stick up for some being bullied too) wasn't the type to try and make people feel better; so this somehow meant more to her.

"We are all screw ups, Kim," Trini shrugged, pointing out at the town with the hand that was holding her beer. "But we stopped this piece of shit place from being completely obliterated, I think we get one."

Kimberly gave Trini a watery smile, and Trini offered her a little smile behind the opening of her beer, tilting the bottle back and taking a swig.

Everyone else agreed and, okay, that made Kimberly feel a little better. They didn't mollycoddled her, act like she was still that 'perfect' girl, they told her straight up she fucked up, but that she wasn't a terrible person.

Jason and Billy were the first to crash, both of them crawling into the sleeping bags they brought, followed by Zack, who crashed against the log he was sitting in front of his head sagging backwards. This left Trini and Kimberly sitting around the fire, watching the flames in a comfortable silence.

"I punched someone's tooth out," Kimberly admitted quietly, not looking away from the fire. Trini didn't either.

"I broke someone's nose,"

"Did they fix it?"

"They did, popped that sucker right back into place." Trini dragged her eyes to Kimberly just as Kimberly looked up, a little grin on her face. "And I heard they people that kids tooth back."

Kimberly laughed quietly. "They did."

It was quiet again, for a few minutes, and Kimberly found herself periodically glancing up at Trini, who looked almost content as she tentatively sipped on her drink. It wasn’t often anyone got to see Trini so soft, and Kimberly felt somewhat privileged to actually get to see it.

"If you could go anywhere in the world," Trini looked up from her the label she had been picking at. "Where would you go?"

"Somewhere in Europe," Kimberly shrugged. "I dunno, France, maybe? The Netherlands. You?”

“Prague,” Trini answered without having to think much at all.

“Any particular reason?” Kimberly tucked her leg under herself.

“That was the last time I remember my family being okay,” Trini commented, trying to seen nonchalant about it, but Kimberly knew that it wasn’t easy for Trini to admit it. “We when went I was fourteen, two weeks after we got home, my mom walked in and caught me kissing my then best friend, Jodie.”

“What did your mother say?”

“Well, I wasn't allowed to hang out with her anymore, but other than that she pretty much ignored it. She told me it was a phase, that I was fourteen, it would fizzle out.” Trini laughed quietly, downing the reminded of her beer, dropping the empty bottle on the floor, using the sleeve of her sweater to wipe her mouth. “It didn’t. I didn’t love her, not really, I know that now. But that doesn’t take away the fact that I like women, too.”

“She doesn’t like that you are into women?”

“She has never outright said so, but I can tell she is just praying it is a phase, that I will get over it.” Trini shook her head, leaning forward to snatch the bottle of tequila from Zack’s hand, the bottle that caused Zack to pass out.

Kimberly caught the bottom of the bottle and Trini’s eyes snapped to hers. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I don’t think you telling me what to do is a good idea, either.” Trini tried to snatch the bottle away but Kimberly caught it again, a little grin appearing of both woman’s lips. “You really want to do this again? Remember who won the piece of doughnut last time.”

“I let you win,” Kimberly shot back confidently.

“Oh really?” Trini raised an eyebrow at Kimberly, grabbing onto her wrist and pulling it away, only for Kimberly to grab her other arm with her other hand. They started trading shots after that, like they had in that cafe that day, when Trini made a move Kimberly countered easily. It was less of a competition at this point and more of a playful squabble, both woman grinning at one and other, maintaining eye contact throughout the encounter, which ended with both women standing in front of each other, the bottle trapped in between their bodies.

Trini had a grip on the neck while Kimberly held onto the main body of the bottle, neither one of them willing to let go.

“Getting drunk isn’t going to solve your issues,” Kimberly commented in a soft voice, almost a whisper.

“Being sober isn’t either.” Trini countered.

“Okay,” Kimberly hummed, letting the bottle go. “Let’s do it then.”

“You want to get drunk, too?” Trini had a little teasing smirk on her lips. “Have you ever even been drunk, Princess?”

“I used to be a cheerleader, I went to parties.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Trini shot back, taking a seat again, motioning to the free space beside her, the chair Billy had used before her crawled into the sleeping bag he brought along. “Let’s do this, then”

Kimberly moved to sit on the chair, watching Trini as she took a swig of the liquid, only flicking slightly as it burned down her throat. She then offered the bottle to Kimberly, who took it unsurely.

Trini laughed, holding her hand out again. “You don’t need to prove anything, Kim."

"I'm not trying to prove anything."

"Okay, whatever you say,"

They took turned drinking from the bottle while Billy, Jason, and Zack slept.

"Okay, let's make this interesting." Kimberly said after a little while. "Truth or drink.”

"What are you, twelve?" Trini shot back but Kimberly didn't seem phased.

"Okay, what is your GPA?"

"Okay, we're doing this, huh?" Trini grumbled. "Four-point-oh. Why did you want to become a cheerleader?"

"My mom pressured me into it, I always preferred field hockey but she said that wasn't a ladies game, that boys would be more into a cheerleader. She even tried to get me to date Jason at one point, she isn't as excited now that we're friends, though. Suppose it'd be fitting now; disgraced cheerleader and disgraced quarter back, match made in detention."

"Would you date Jason?"

"Ah, my turn." Kimberly held up a finger. "Have you ever dating someone at school?"

"I have, she isn't out yet so I'm not telling you who." Trini answered simple. "Would you date Jason?"

"Jason is my best friend, that's all.” Kimberly answered honestly, tilting her chin up challengingly. “Why do you care?”

“I only care about the integrity of this team, we don’t need it tainted by you two breaking up.”

“We are adults, if we did break up we could be civil about it.” Kimberly laughed quietly. “Not that it is going to happen.”

“You ever had a crush on a girl?” Trini asked, a cheeky little smirk on her face, obviously expecting Kimberly to get defensive or flustered, or maybe even drink.

“I have,” Kimberly answered, taking Trini completely by surprise. “Surprised?”

“Honestly? A little.”

This made Kimberly grin smugly. “If you could date any one at school, who would it be?”

Trini honestly thought Kimberly would be the first to drink, that Kimberly would be the shy one of the two of them, but Trini couldn’t answer that. Sure, she could lie, but that defeats the purpose of the game, and she definitely couldn’t say that it would be Kimberly she would date. So she took a drink, which had Kimberly tilting her head curiously, but she didn’t push, because that wasn’t the point of the game.

“Why were you out here the night we found the coins?”

“I had to get away, I would come down here when I just couldn’t be around my family, I would go for a swim.”

“What happened?”

“I cut my hair. I’d just had enough so I took a pair of scissors to it.” Kimberly admitted. “When I got home my mother freaked out, she yelled, called me reckless. She asked where her little girl went.”

“Ugh, I hate that.” Trini grumbled, her head falling back against her chair, the scar on her neck visible as the light from the fire danced off of it. “If you don’t want to dress up in pretty pink dresses, or have long hair you aren’t their little girl.”

“I know, right!” Kimberly huffed, slouching in her chair. “I’ve spent years trying to make my parents happy, doing everything they wanted of me, I kept straight A’s, joined the cheerleader squad, made friends with the popular girls in school. It was all so-“

“Exhausting?”

“Boring!” Kimberly exploded. “That’s not who I am. I’m not the picture perfect teenage girl, I’m not one of those girls on the cheer squad. I hated pretending to be something I’m not, I was pretending all the time and, yes, it was damn exhausting. But coming here, I felt like I could be myself, just let go of all those expectations, of the 'perfect' image and just relax."

“If it makes you feel any better you certainly aren’t perfect now,” Trini had a cheeky little grin on her lips, like she was trying to tease Kimberly, but it actually was comforting.

“It actually is, yeah.”

“Who would have known that a vagabond group of detention dwellers would have saved the world?” Trini rolled her eyes, taking a gulp of the tequila. “God, if they knew the safety of this town and the world was in the hands of us. The kids that this town looks down on.”

“I dunno, I feel somewhat smug knowing that if it wasn’t for me, they would dead.”

“Wow, God complex much?”

“That’s not what I meant. I meant, like, when my old friends make snide comments or one of the adults around town look down their noses at me, I just remember that I saved them. That they really don’t know the first thing about me.” Kimberly reached across to take the bottle from Trini, who gave it up willingly. “Okay, next question; Are you afraid of what is going to come for us next?”

That was a question no one had asked yet. Rita had claimed that she was just the tip of the iceberg, that more would come, and of course they would, they had the crystal that held the power of life under their town. That amount of power would attract people who had less than desirable intentions.

“Of course, and I worry that maybe next time we won’t be good enough but then I look at how well we work together now, how well training goes, and I know we can take on anything.” Trini reasoned and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

They passed the bottle between them for a few minutes before Trini piped up again.

“Do you have nightmares?” Trini whispered, not looking up from the bottle her hand.

“Yes,” Kimberly answered in an equally low voice.

“About what?”

“All of it. Rita, Goldar, the fact that we could be under attack at any moment, the people.”

Kimberly thought she would have had to explain what she meant by the last one but Trini swallowed thickly and nodded. “I crushed a few people,” Trini said in a strained voice. “I’m my Zord, I stepped on them.”

“I shot a few,”

“We destroyed a lot of property.”

“Yeah, I doubt anyone would be that thankful if they knew it was us who were then Power Rangers.” Kimberly murmured. “We saved more people than we killed, that’s something, right?”

“Doesn’t stop me from hearing those people getting crushed under my Zord.”

Kimberly placed a comforting hand on Trini’s arm, there was nothing they could really say here, they killed people, there was no excusing that, but it was unavoidable.

Trini fell asleep first, not long before the sun started rising, and Kimberly watched her sleep peacefully, her chin resting on the back of the chair as she stared. She fell asleep about half an hour later.

—

They would sometimes throw a ball around because it was something that relaxed Jason. He hated playing for the school team but he loved throwing a football around so they would come up to the mountain and play for a while.

“Go deep, Trin!” Jason called, throwing the ball way higher than any human could ever hope to catch, but Trini wasn’t human.

Trini ran, glancing over her shoulder to keep an eye on the ball. Zack noticed Trini coming at him so he got down on his hands and knees, allowing Trini to step on his back and propel herself up into the air, turning midair to face the ball, catching it easily. She bounced easily off the wall, landing on the ground with a thump, grinning at Jason. “You gotta try harder than that if you don’t want me to catch it, big boy.” She said, throwing the ball at Jason at a speed that would probably knock out, and maybe even kill, a human.

Jason caught it with a little huff while Kimberly grinned beside him, taking the ball from him.

Trini stopped in her movement, narrowing her eyes at Kimberly who shook the ball in her direction, almost challengingly.

The rest of the group glanced between them curiously. Zack had spotted the tension between them from the beginning but it was just now starting to dawn on Jason, and maybe Billy.

Trini got ready and Kimberly lobed the ball, much further than Jason had and Trini took off, hoping over Zack who had decided to lay on the ground instead of getting up. Trini jumped high enough to catch the ball before disappearing down one of the chasms in the mountain. This caused the rest of the Rangers to rush over, they knew she would be okay but they wanted to make sure. Trini shot back out of the chasm just as they peered over the edge, landing a few feet away from them with the ball in her hand and a cheeky smile on her face.

“Nice try, Princess.” She pressed the ball against Kimberly’s chest and turned to head back to the camp site.

Kimberly smiled bashfully, holding the ball to her chest, while the rest of the Rangers watched her curiously.

“Come on then, losers, we are due in detention in five minutes.” Trini called, glancing over her shoulder at them. “Last one there has to take on a pack of putties in the pit tonight.”

Zack lost, because he got too cocky and ran into one of the cement mixers that were everywhere in town since Rita destroyed half of it.

When they all first started attending detention (Zack for throwing a eraser at Trini, which hit her square on the back of the head, and Trini for getting caught threatening the girls who kept picking on Kimberly, though she told everyone it was because of the attitude she gave her teacher) they all sat together, but within twenty minutes of them being there they had been split up, sent to opposite sides of the room.

Trini was lounging in her seat, her feet up on her desk as she balanced on the hind two legs of her chair. She just managed to catch the piece of paper inches before it hit her on the nose, glaring over it at Kimberly who was grinning cheekily.

Trini unfolded the piece of paper, smiling at the scrabbled drawing of the animals counterparts of the Zords.

She folded that piece of paper up again and slipped it into her pocket before tearing another piece out of her note pad and scribbled down that Kimberly was a loser.

Kimberly caught the piece of paper without even looking up, quickly unfolding it and rolling her eyes, glancing back to Trini who held her hand up to her forehead in a ‘loser’ gesture.

Kimberly grinned, turning back to the paper and quickly writing something down, throwing the paper over her shoulder when she was finished.

‘you are really into affectionate little pet names, huh?’

They headed back to the pit after detention. Training was a lot less intense now that they didn’t have the threat of Rita looming over them, but Trini could feel tension creeping in, an entirely different kind of tension.

When she and Kimberly first started sparing it was playful, teasing little jabs and jovial comments but as time went on Trini could feel it become much more… charged.

Neither one of them acknowledged it.

—

Trini first climbed into Kimberly room after getting into a argument with her parents, who accused her of being involved in something that she shouldn’t be. That made Trini explode, even when she was out there doing something good, protecting people, her parents just automatically thought the worst of her.

Kimberly was asleep when she got there, she startled awake when Trini’s feet hit her floor, but she relaxed immediately when she spotted Trini through the dark room. “Sneaking into someone’s room in the middle of the night is creepy, T.” Kimberly grumbled against her pillow.

“Sorry, I just had to getaway.” Trini admitted and this prompted Kimberly to lift her head and really look at her.

“Take your shoes off and get in,” She said, shuffling to the other side of the double bed, throwing the duvet back for Trini.

Trini kicked of her shoes and shrugged offer jacket before climbing into the bed, facing Kimberly.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, it’s just family stuff.”

“Okay,” Kimberly hummed, giving Trini’s arm a little squeeze. “G’night.”

—

When Kimberly tried to sneak into Trini’s room for the first time (after a particularly bad nightmare), she actually had to knock because not only was Trini’s windows closed but she had installed her own locks on them.

Trini stirred awake, rolling out of beaded to her window, unlocking and opening it when she spotted Kimberly. She glared sleepily at her, her hair sleep mused and her cheek marked from the way she was sleeping. “What are you doing?”

“I had a nightmare,” Kimberly stated simply, and Trini let her in, closing and locking the window again. “What’s with the locks?”

“Since Rita,” Trini just shrugged, climbing back into bed, leaving enough room for Kimberly.

Kimberly felt stupid, of course Trini would have some sort of everlasting affects of a madwoman sneaking into her room, throwing her against walls and scarring her. “Do you want to talk about the Rita thing?”

“There’s nothing to talk about, she got into my room, since then I’ve been terrified to open my window.” Trini waited for Kimberly to get into themed before turning to look at her. “You want to talk about your dream?”

"Rita managed to throw all of you guys into that hole, and because I could fly I didn't go in with you guys, and I couldn't save you. Rita let me live because she knew living without you guys would hurt more than dying would." Kimberly felt her throat tighten at the thought of losing any of her team. Trini must her realised Kimberly was getting choked up because she turned on her side to face her, pulling Kimberly closer. Kimberly gripped onto the front of Trini's shirt, her head tucked under Trini's chin. "I can't lose you guys."

"You aren't going to," Trini rubbed Kimberly's back calmingly. "We over came Rita and everything she threw at us, and we will over come everything anyone else throws at us. We're a team."

Kimberly could feel herself relax in Trini's arms.

"We have a test tomorrow," Trini whispered against Kimberly's head. "You should sleep."

Kimberly nodded, allowing herself to completely relax, knowing her was safe in Trini's arms.

—

It was a month after their battle with Rita that they came face to face with someone new the ship. The team stopped their laughing and joking when they spotted the girl standing in front of Zordon. She was roughly around Kimberley’s height, maybe a little taller, with long, red hair, and dressed in a green flannel and black skinnies.

"Guy, finally," Alpha-5 came up behind Jason, pushing at his lower back, forcing the confused boy to step forward.

The girl, the pretty girl, Kimberly noted, looked totally out of her element, a scared look on her face. One she was sure they all also had at the beginning.

"Who are you?" Billy questioned.

"I'm Tammi," the girl answered timidly, glancing at each of the rangers.

Trini gave the girl a once over, spotting the green coin in her hand. "Where did you find that?" She questioned, a little harsher than she really meant to, they were all still a little on edge from Rita.

"I- I was out running and found it down one of the off trails, then it lit up and I woke up here.” The girl explained frantically. “Suddenly I was surrounded by a talking wall and a robot.”

“Excuse me!” Alpha-5 gasped. “I am an android, not a robot.”

“So you just found it?” Trini questioned, marching toward Tammi. “Convenient, don’t you think?”

Tammi looked terrified as Trini made her way toward her. “I don’t- What?”

“Trini, stop.” Kimberly snapped and Trini immediately stopped in her tracks, but continued glaring at Tammi. “Sorry, the last person who held that tried to kill us and destroy the planet, we are all a little testy.”

“What is going on here, where am I?”

Zordon explained everything to the new girl, and to the Rangers. Trini stood by her friends, eyeing the new girl suspiciously, but relaxed when Kimberly placed her palm on her lower back.

They didn’t train that day, they wanted to give Tammi the opportunity to wrap her head around what was actually happening. They did camp out, though, answering any questions Tammi had for them.

Trini settled down next to Kimberly on the log, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her sweater.

“Tell us about youself?” Zack questioned, pointing over at Tammi. “To morph we need to get to know one and other.”

“Okay, uh, I’m Tammi, I’m seventeen, I just moved here two weeks ago, my father is in charge of rebuilding everything in town. I dunno, I’m a soccer player- uh…”

“Tell us one of your deepest secrets?” Zack interjected.

“I hardly know you guys.” Tammi frowned.

“There is no rush,” Jason glared over at Zack. “We are a team now but you don’t have to feel pressured into anything.”

Tammi had smiled and nodded at that, continuing to tell the Rangers about her previous town.

Trini stopped by Kimberly’s place that night, climbing into the window that the pink Ranger had taken to leaving open for her. Kimberly was sitting at her desk, probably doing school work. She didn’t need to turn around to know it was Trini. “Snacks in the top drawer.” She said, like Trini didn’t know she had started up a snack drawer for whenever Trini stopped by.

Trini fell face first onto the bed and routed around in the drawer, pulling out a packet of strawberry laces.

She was quieter than usual, which prompted Kimberly to spin in her seat, staring at Trini as she laid on Kimberly’s bed, staring at the ceiling and chewing on one of the laces. “What’s up?”

“What do you think of Tammi?”

“What do I think of her?” Kimberly frowned curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Do you trust her?”

“I don’t know,” Kimberly put her pencil down on the desk and moved to crawl on the bed beside Trini, taking a bite of the strawberry lace Trini offered her. “She hasn’t given us a reason not to.”

“I suppose,”

“But I can understand why you don’t,” Kimberly crossed her arms under her head, peering over at Trini. “The last person who held that coin turned evil, I understand why you don’t trust it. But that wasn’t the coin’s doing, Rita just had that in here all along, she had something rotten inside of her, the coin just gave her the opportunity to act upon it.”

“I’m scared,” Trini whispered into the quiet room. “It has been the five of us for the past month, we’ve been through so much in such a short space of time, made such a strong bond, you guys are family.”

“And it is scary to let someone else into this, I understand that.” Kimberly spoke softly. “But she’s a Ranger now, we can’t just leave her out in the cold.”

“I know, I never wanted that.”

“It’ll be okay, Trini. Regardless of what happens, we will still have each other, the five of us. But give this girl a chance, huh?”

Trini nodded, motioning toward Kimberly’s desk. “Were you seriously doing school work? After everything that happened today.”

“These straight A’s aren’t going to maintain themselves.” Kimberly ran her fingertips up and down Trini’s bare arm. “Are you staying over?”

“If that’s okay?” Trini relaxed under Kimberly’s touch. “Seeing that coin again has left me on edge.”

“Of course it is okay,” Kimberly rolled off of her bed, routing around in her top drawer, pulling out an old Miami Heat jersey. She was never really a fan, it was just something she bought to wear in the summer. She threw it at Trini, who caught it easily. “Do you want some sweats?”

“No, I’ll just sleep in my boxers,” Trini rolled off of the bed, turning her back to Kimberly and pulling her t-shirt over her head.

Kimberly’s eyebrow’s raised in surprised and she stared at Trini’s back until Trini reached around to undo her bra, that prompted her to look away, her cheeks feeling a little hot and her stomach in knots.

They settled in Kimberly’s bed, Kimberly trying to keep the bare skin of her legs away from Trini’s because, honestly, she didn’t trust herself.

“Goodnight, Kimberly.”

“Night, T.”

—

  
Trini was the first of the original Rangers to show up at the pit, Tammi was already there, sitting unsurely on the rocks.

“No one here?” Trini asked shortly, sitting on rocks a few feet away.

“Nah, I’ve been here for a few minutes.”

Trini just nodded, not bothering to reply or even look at Tammi. There was a long awkward silence before Tammi piped up again.

“I know you don’t like me, but I don’t even want to be in this situation. It was forced on me, like it was with you guys.” She said in a quiet voice. “And I’m scared, I saw what happened here, I don’t know if I would be strong enough to go up against something like that.”

Tammi’s voice wavered slightly and Trini couldn’t help but feel sorry for the girl. “We didn’t either,” Trini said and Tammi looked up at her questioningly. “Think we were strong enough, we didn’t either. We almost died, a few times, we were terrified. But we did it, we worked as a unit and we did it. You’re a part of the that unit now, but it will take time for it to gel.”

“I’m really out of my element here.”

“Oh, we all are.” Trini said. “I’m just warning you, though, you pull what Rita did and we will do to you what we did to her.”

Tammi nodded understandingly. “What happened to her, anyway?”

“Jason slapped her into space,” Trini answered flippantly, a little grin pulling onto her lips when Tammi laughed loudly, the sound bouncing off the stone walls.

“What?”

“Long story,” Trini rolled her eyes. “It all started in detention with Kimberly, Billy and Jason.”

“Do you all just go to detention? Or are you just all bad kids?”

“Bit of both? Jason is there for breaking into the school and leaving a cow there,” Trini said and Tammi frowned questioningly. “Teenage angst. Billy is there for blowing up a lunch box. Kimberly punched a dude’s tooth out. Zack threw an eraser at the back of my head, and I gave attitude to a teacher.”

“You say ‘teenage angst’ like it isn’t something you all have.” Tammi was joking, judging by the playful, if slightly anxious, smile on her face. Her anxiety seemed to melt away when Trini smiled slightly, rolling her eyes.

“Like you’re one to talk, Miss spray paints ‘fuck the man’ in her high school gym.” Trini arched an eyebrow at Tammi. “That is, like, next level angst.”

“Out of context, yes, it seems that way.”

“I’m context it is worse.” Trini laughed. “You done it because the gym teacher claimed feminists are always trying to stick it to the man, which was stupid according to him.”

“Okay, fine, I’m an angsty teen.” Tammi grinned, holding her hands up in defeat.

“Imagine if the town knew their fate rested in the hands of angsty teens who prance around in bright colours?”

“They would probably sit us down and tell us we have it too easy and worry that we might be on our damn phones when the end of the world happens.” Tammi commented.

Trini laughed at that. “Wow, that was angsty.”

“I’m bitter, what can I say?” Tammi shrugged with a little grin.

“I get that,” Trini agreed.

The silence that surrounded them this time had no air of awkwardness to it at all, which Tammi was thankful for. All the other Rangers had come around to having her around but not Trini.

“Why has everyone else come around to having me here but not you?” Tammi questioned tentatively.

“Rita snuck into my room one night. She threw me around a bit, threatened me,” Trini pulled down the collar of her t-shirt to show Tammi. “Scarred me. Then everything else that happened, I just didn’t trust the coin.”

“And now?”

Trini looked up at Tammi through her eyelashes, noting how nervous the girl looked.

“Kim said that it wasn’t anything to do with the coin, it was in Rita the entire time. I wasn’t sure, but then I spoke to Zordon.” Trini shrugged. “I should have given you a chance, I’m sorry.”

Tammi looked surprised at this, lightly shaking her head. “That’s okay. You all went through a lot, I can understand why you were so reserved.”

“It is going to be hard, you know? We will try and make it easier on you but it isn’t easy morphing. It’s frustrating because you can feel it, it tickles at your skin, like it is about to happen but it doesn’t. You will get frustrated and think you aren’t good enough but that coin wouldn’t have picked you if you weren’t, it just takes a little time.”

“I can feel it already, I’m so restless, I feel like there is a swarm of bees buzzing under my skin.”

“That goes away once you morph,”

“That’s a relief,”

Trini just took to Tammi after that, they formed a pretty fast bond that had Trini a little miffed at herself that she held this girl at arms length for so long.

They would spar together, do homework together while the rest of the Rangers were in detention, and when, after four weeks, Tammi managed to morph, Trini hopped in the air, pumping her fist and letting out a little whoop.

This interaction got the rest of the Rangers attention, specifically Kimberly who was feeling a little pushed out.

She decided to bring it up one day while she and Trini walked back from training. “So, you and Tammi seem close.”

“She’s nice,” Trini said with a little shrug.

“Nice? Like, ‘she’s a good friend’ nice or ‘she’s a potently girlfriend’ nice?”

This made Trini frown, lifting her head to look at Kimberly. “What?”

“I dunno, there seems to be something there when you guys are training together, and she is into women, too.”

“What, so you think because we are both into women we’d date each other?” Trini stopped walking, looking at Kimberly confused, and a little guarded.

“That’s not what I’m saying,”

“It sounds like that’s exactly what you’re saying.” Trini’s hands moved her hips as she glowered over at Kimberly.

“I’m just feeling pushed out, okay?” Kimberly shot back.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, it used to be you and I, we’d spar together, and hang out, and now all you do is spend time with her.”

“You are the one who told me to give her a chance!” Trini snapped incredulously.

“I didn’t mean replace me with her,” Kimberly didn’t like how whiny she sounded, but the statement caused Trini to soften considerable.

“Replace you? She hasn’t replaced you.”

“It feels like she has,”

“Where is this coming from?” Trini frown.

“When was the last time we spent any time together, just the two of us?"

This caused Trini to pause, it had definitely been a while since they spent time together alone but they had been busy. With school and being Power Rangers (which was considerable less exciting when you're dealing with small town criminals and not the end of the world) Trini hadn't had the chance to really hang out with anyone.

Sure, she and Tammi had hung out a few times but that was because the rest of the Rangers were at detention, and that was the only free time they really had, a Saturday morning, and Tammi actively sought she out.

"That hasn't been intentional, Kim. We've just been busy."

Kimberly looked like she had more to say, but she didn't. Instead she nodded and began walking again.

"Hey, you don't get to do that!" Trini snapped, rushing to catch up with Kimberly. “You can’t just call me out on something then not let me defend myself.”

“I didn’t call you out on anything,” Kimberly huffed. “Look, can we just forget I said anything. You’re right, we’ve been busy.”

They walked in silence for the remainder of the walk, Trini offered Kimberly a timid goodbye before heading into her house.

—

Tammi came over that night, waking Trini up by knocking on her window.

Trini felt awful for feeling disappointed that it was the green Rangers sitting on the ledge outside her window and not Kimberly. She and Kimberly still hadn’t spoke about what had been said today, and it was eating away at her.

“Tammi, what are you doing here?” Trini frowned sleepily, stepping away from the window to allow her to hop inside.

“Something’s wrong.” Tammi said. “Do you guy ever get this feeling, and impending sense of doom, I suppose? Like something it coming, something that has to do with you but you just don’t you what.”

Trini did, but she was pretty sure that was some sort of PTSD after everything that happened this Rita, Tammi didn’t go through that.

“What do you mean?”

“Whatever I’ve got the coin on me I just feel this weight, against my chest. Like, dread, you know? That feeling you get when you do something wrong and you know you are going to be in so much trouble for it.”

“Have you spoken to Jason about this? Or Zordon.”

“No, you’re the first person I’ve mentioned it too.”

Trini took a seat on her bed, frowning thoughtfully. “I don’t- I get that, too but it has nothing to do with the coin, it’s what happened with Rita.”

“Oh, okay,” Tammi nodded, motioning toward her window. “I just wanted to stop by and ask, it has been bothering me for a while.”

“You don’t need to leave,” Trini moved to lie down again. “We’re both going to the same place in the morning, close the window and just crash here.”

Trini was the second last stop one Jason’s route to pick them all up. He had Kimberly and Billy in the car already when Trini and Tammi made their way to the newly restored truck the following morning. Each other the other Rangers frowned questioningly at them as they climbed into the car the following morning but they didn’t say anything.

Kimberly did act weird with her that day, though. Whether that was down to their conversation the previous day or the fact Tammi spent the night Trini wasn’t sure.

Trini stayed up the mountain after everyone headed home, her and Zack perched on the edge, looking over Angel Grove, as they sipped at their beers.

"You like her, right?" Zack questioned, it was the first time either one of them had really spoke since they sat down.

"Who?" Trini asked because, honestly, she wasn't sure if he thought she was into Tammi, too.

"Kimberly, obviously, who else?"

"Well, Kimberly seems to think I like Tammi, so."

"Do you?" Zack questioned unsurely.

"Of course not,"

"Because Tammi would be the safer bet, she's known to like girls."

"Tammi and I are friends.” Trini assured. “Besides, she is heart broken over the girl she left behind when she moved here,"

"Okay, so Kim?"

Trini chewed the inside of her cheek, her eyes not moving from the town. “You’re right, Tammi would have be easier.”

“It’s not all bad.” Zack went to place an arm around Trini’s shoulder but stopped, leaving it hanging in midair for a few seconds before he awkwardly patted the upper middle of Trini’s back.

Trini frowned over at him. “What are you doing?”

“Comforting you,” Zack drew his hand back unsurely. “Is that not comforting?”

“Not even a little bit,”

“Oh, okay.” Zack clasped his hands on his lap. “So you do like Kim?”

“Yeah, but I’m dealing with it.”

“ignoring it isn’t dealing with it,” Zack side-eyed Trini.

“What else am I supposed to do?” Trini turned to look at Zack, looking like she was almost begging Zack to tell her what to do. “Kimberly isn’t into me.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because she’s Kimberly! Why would she be into me?”

“Oh, come on, T.” Zack huffed. “Self pity was never your thing.”

“It isn’t self pity, its true. I bring nothing to the table.”

“Shut up,” Zack snapped. “We couldn’t have taken down Rita without you, Tammi would have taken longer to morph if it wasn’t for you. You are as important as anyone on this team, we wouldn’t have a team if it wasn’t for you.”

“But I’m the expendable one.”

“None of us are expendable,” Zack placed a hand on Trini’s lower back. “We are a unit, we are useless without the others.”

Trini just clenched her jaw, her palms running up and down her thighs.

“You are enough, Trini, how Kimberly feels about you doesn’t diminish that.”

They didn’t really talk much after that, Trini finishing a few more beers before heading home.

—

Tammi asked her the same question one Saturday morning.

They were in the library, making a dent in the backlog of homework they had while the rest of the Rangers were in detention when she brought it up.

“What is the thing between you and Kimberly?”

Trini’s hand stalled in her writing, looking up at Tammi with a frown. “What’d you mean?”

“Well, are you guys dating? Did you date before?”

“No, to both. Why?”

“Really? Tammi looked genuinely surprised at that. “I don’t know, you guys both seem to have…something. I just figured you were both dating.”

“No, Kimberly and I are friends.”

“Oh, okay,” Tammi nodded, turning her attention back to her homework for a few seconds before asking, “But you like her, right?”

Trini sighed, setting her pencil down on the table and running her hands over her face. “She thinks I like you.”

Tammi tilted her head curiously, asking her next question carefully, like she didn’t really want to know the answer. “Do you?”

“No, of course not.”

“Wow,” Tammi laughed. “Way to tear down a girls ego there, Trini.”

“Stop fishing for compliments.” Trini smirked at her friend, but it melted away a few seconds later. “Kimberly is out of my league.”

“I think you’re scared,” Tammi commented. “I think you’re scared and making up all these excused to just not deal with it.”

“Of course I’m scared,” Trini rolled her eyes. “Kimberly is my best friend, I can’t lose her, I don’t want to put an atmosphere around the group if anything bad happens between the two of us, I don’t even want to start on how terrified I’d be when we are in the middle of a fight, and my parents are a whole other issue.”

“You aren’t going to lose her. There is already an atmosphere, even Billy noticed. You’ll worry about her regardless but I think you know Kimberly can hold her own in a fight. And I know about the parent thing, but you can’t live to please them.”

Trini began scribbling on her page, a little sigh escaping her lips. “She’s mad at me, she said she isn’t but I know she is.”

“So fix it.” Tammi shrugged, turning her attention back to her notes. “Do whatever you need to.”

The group came and got them after detention, Trini felling into step beside Kimberly while Tammi laughed and joked with the boys.

“How was detention?” It was the first thing that came to Trini’s mind, and it was such a dumb question to ask.

“Seriously?” Kimberly arched an eyebrow at Trini, a little smile pulling it’s way onto her lips when Trini shrugged. “It was terrible, boring. How was your study session?”

“Enlightening,” Trini hummed. “Can we spar together at training? Tammi is good but not on my level, you're a little closer to my level, though not at my level yet."

Kimberly laughed, catching Both Zack's and Tammi's attention, Jason and Billy too busy carrying on to take much notice. Zack grinned back at her and her and Tammi gave Trini a discreet thumbs up.

“Bring it on, T.”

It just so happened the on that day Zordon introduced them to their weapons.

They were colour codes, because of course they were, and Trini headed straight over to the yellow daggers, picking them up and getting a feel for the weight.

Billy had a blue Lance, which spit into two trident like sai blades.

Zack had a black axe, which doubled as a cannon-like weapon.

Kimberly had a pink bow.

Tammi also got daggers but Zordon informed her that her daggers doubled as a flute, which had everyone frowning until he clarified that by playing the flute it would summon Tammi’s Zord, a Zord that had initially been buried with Rita.

And Jason had already gotten the chance to use his sword in the fight against Rita.

So instead of sparring that night they practiced with their weapons.

Jason was already pretty comfortable with his sword. Zack was, unsurprisingly, good at swinging and axe around. Billy takes a little longer to get used to his weapon but but the end of the day he pretty much has the gist of it. Kimberly was a natural with her bow, sending perfect headshot to the putties after only an hour of handling it.

Trini and Tammi ended up working together again but not really out of choice.

The boys had heavier melee weapons so they worked together, Kimberly had a projectile weapon so she was practicing on the putties, and Tammi and Trini had daggers, it was just logically that they practiced together.

“So,” Tammi started, both girls a little sweaty as they took shots taking blows and blocking blows. “Are you going to make a move?”

Trini blocked Tammi’s attack, their daggers making a satisfying screeching noise as they collided and scrapped against each other. “In case you haven’t noticed, Oliver,” Trini pushed on Tammi’s dagger, forcing her backward before swinging her own dagger at Tammi’s midsection, which she easily avoided. “I’m stuck with you.”

“Ask her to stay after,” Tammi suggested, taken completely by surprise when Trini ducked under her hand, spinning around her body, wrapping her arm around her neck, her dagger lightly pressed against the skin there. “Get a little privacy.”

“Why are you pushing this so hard?” Trini huffed, pushing Tammi away from her.

“I want you to be happy,” Tammi whipped around to face Trini, not giving her a second to breath before she was going at her again. “We all do.”

Trini just rolled her eyes at that, continuing on with their training.

By the end of training everyone was exhausted, all more than a little sweaty and each of them sporting at least one injury.

(Kimberly’s arm bruised from where the string of her bow had pinged her skin. Zack’s back was all scraped up from a particularly bad puttie attack. Billy had nicked Jason’s leg which his lance and Jason had accidentally caught Billy’s arm with his sword. Trini had caught the back of Tammi’s hand with her blade which Tammi left a gash on Trini’s side with her own blade.)

Trini knew it wasn’t a good idea, she just wanted to go home and sleep, but she still found herself making her way over to Kimberly and asking her to stay to spar.

“Sure, yeah.” Kimberly agreed, her lips stretching into a large smile.

They said goodbye to the rest of the Rangers, Trini not missing the little grin Tammi and Zack gave her as they left.

“How is your arm?” Trini questioned, nodding her head in the direction of Kimberly’s arm.

“Healing already,” Kimberly held up her hand to show Trini the mostly disappeared wounds. “But I wasn’t the one who slashed.”

“It’s healing, too.” Trini held up her shirt to show Kimberly the red line where the open wound had been a few minutes prior.

Kimberly stared, probably a little longer than she should have, before nodding and looking away. “Good.”

“So, does that mean you aren’t going to use your sore arm as an excuse when I beat you?”

This playful like jib make Kimberly smirk, her eyebrows raising, almost challengingly. “Is that right?”

“It is,”

“Okay,” Kimberly tilted her head up, and Trini got one last look at her smirk before she morphed.

Trini morphed, too, only just managing to morphing completely before Kimberly was on her, throwing punches that Trini was just fast enough to block.

“Look,” Trini started, blocking ever shot Kimberly took.

“Trin,” Kimberly said at the same time.

Both laughed lightly, only stalling in their movements for a second before Trini kicked at Kimberly. “You go,” Trini offered.

“I’m just- I’m sorry about the other day.” Kimberly apologised, grabbed Trini’s foot when she went to kick her side, just managing to duck under the yellow rangers other leg when she hopped up and tried to kick her head. “It was out of line, making out like you were the bad guy. Everything you said was true, and I’m sorry I just assumed you and Tammi were getting together.”

“I don’t like Tammi,” Trini assured, leaning back and a little to the left to dodge Kimberly punch.

“I believe you.”

“I’m sorry if it felt like I was pushing you out.” Trini used her forearm to block Kimberly’s kick. “I thought about it that night and I realised we had been spending less time together, but that wasn’t intentional.”

“I know. And I know your life doesn’t revolve around me.”

“Damn right it doesn’t.” Trini dodged Kimberly’s attack again, using Kimberly’s own momentum to push her up against a nearby wall, her forearm pressing against Kimberly’s throat. Trini’s masked lowed as she grinned at Kimberly. “You are all offence, princess.”

Kimberly’s mask also disappeared and she didn’t look the slightest bit annoyed that she had lost.

“I’m glad you asked me to stay,” Kimberly said softly, the rest of her armour disappearing, which made Trini frown, were they done?

“I’m glad you agreed.” Trini allowed her own armour to dissolve, lowering her arm from Kimberly’s throat and went to move away but Kimberly’s hand on her arm stopped her. Trini frowned down at her hand, looking up at Kimberly who looked a little anxious. “Kim, what-“

Kimberly pulled Trini in again, one hand gripping onto Trini’s while the other hooked around the back of the yellow rangers neck, and kissed her, effectively cutting Trini off.

Trini’s eyes opened in surpriser free hand hanging in midair while Kimberly held onto her other one.

After her brain had caught up with what was happening (that this was really happening), she tentatively kissed Kimberly back, drawing an approving little hum from her. Trini’s free hand landed on Kimberly’s hip as she stepped a little closer, her head tilting back a little as she pushed herself up onto her toes.

They parted with a little gasp from Trini, and then a hum of agreement from Kimberly. They both kept their eyes closed, their foreheads touching.

“Sorry, I just- I’ve wanted to do that for so long.” Kimberly whispered against Trini’s lips.

“I’m glad you did.” Trini breathed.

“Zack has been on my back for weeks about this,” Kimberly laughed.

“Me too!” Trini pulled back a little. “Tammi too, they have been hounding me about this.”

“It’s nice, I suppose. That they are so supportive.”

“Are you kidding? Zack is going to be insufferable after this.” Trini groaned, her head falling back slightly. “He is going to take credit for this.”

Kimberly smiled over at Trini, her thumb smoothing over the skin on Trini’s cheekbone.

"Let's get out of here before Alpha comes and catches us, hm?"

"My place?" Kimberly questioned.

"Your place," Trini agreed.

Tammi and Zack had been both smug and giddy when the girls walked into the ship the following day holding hands. Jason and Billy looked a little surprised but were happy for them.

There was no big changes like Trini had been worried about. They were still Trini and Kimberly, yellow and pink, the sabre tooth and pterodactyl. They were still them, just with kissing and a lot of PDA.

It was nice, having someone who liked her seemingly unconditional. Someone who liked her not despite her flaws but because of them. Someone who knew every little thing about her but still liked her.

It was nice just being with Kimberly.


End file.
